McLaren unconcerned by "typical" balance struggles

McLaren racing director Andrea Stella believes difficulties with the car characteristics of the MCL35M are "typical" and not specific to the team.

Lando Norris has elevated his form to another level this year to sit third in the drivers' standings but team-mate Daniel Ricciardo has struggled to adapt to the team after his winter switch from the team that is now Alpine.

Despite the pace Norris has shown, there have been instances where Ferrari has stolen a march in the battle for third in the constructors' standings due to track configurations suiting the Scuderia more.

Stella explained that this was down to an issue all teams face in F1 and not just McLaren.

Asked if McLaren's special characteristics were more extreme than other cars, Stella said: “I find this quite typical.

"Even with a long shot in a way, going back to my days at Ferrari, I think there were phases, seasons in which the car was experiencing similar characteristics.

"So it is always a bit difficult to find the right blending between having a car that is strong in mid-corner and maintaining good characteristics in a straight line and in high-speed.

“Conversely, if you focus your car on a straight line and high speed, it then becomes difficult to maintain good aerodynamics in the middle of a corner.

“I think this is very typical. It is not McLaren specific.

“What is McLaren specific, if you want, is our car clearly is on one side of this typical split of characteristics that you can achieve.”

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